Beyond Entropy
by Bane Keldare
Summary: The world has fallen apart. When the Master Emerald shattered, uncontrollable Chaos ravaged the planet of Mobius unto near oblivion. It's been five years. The survivors are finally beginning to pick up the pieces, and one hedgehog...is still running.


"Beyond Entropy"

Prologue: "Chaos History"

by Bane Keldare

_ Another world…another time…_  
_ In the age of wonder…_  
_ Another world…another time…_  
_ This land was green and good,_  
_ Until the crystal cracked!_  
--The Dark Crystal 

_I at one point thought Mobius was at its worst._

_There we were, facing a madman like 'Buttnik, and there's just no end to this guy! He's just pokin' his big fat ass through our planet, and it just keeps getting bigger. Did I mention it had robots? And a city? Yeah, his ass is **huge.**_

_So there we were, right? Fighting Robotnik, cuttin' down SWAT-bots left and right, and we're just kicking some serious ass. Robotnik had this Doomsday device, and we toasted that thing right quick. Of course, that's what I'm good at…speed. Anyways, Snively shows up and takes over the show, but I guess Buttnik survived, cause he got back in power again. Then I found out I had a bro and sis, and of course, met you, but you knew that already. I ran around with Manic and Sonia for about a year, while we were trying to find out about our mom. But Robotnik just wasn't going to give up._

_But this time he was crazy. I mean clinically i**nsane** here, people. Instead of just expanding his city, he spent his whole time trying to get rid of us, and me in particular._

_You do remember me, right? My name's Sonic the Hedgehog._

_But he heard about the Chaos Emeralds, and it was the beginning of trouble for us. First, he gets his hands on us and made this almost invincible robot…that is, until I got inside and snatched the emerald out from inside it. Not very invincible when there's no power eh?_

_Then…Robotnik turned toward the Master Emerald._

_That…was when everything went wrong._

_Listen up, okay? This is important, world-changing history here. So he goes to Angel Island and runs into my pal Knuckles. Well, the battle raged on for awhile, but Robotnik finally snatched the Master Emerald and escaped Knuckles. Well, after that, Angel Island just falls. Yeah, right into the ocean. Splash!_

_While the Island's still there, it just isn't the same when it's not in the sky, ya know?_

_So he hightails it back to Robotropolis, his big dark city, and starts researching it. Sure, that didn't cause any problems, but he found out how to use it as a power source._

_So he did._

_Problem is, the Master Emerald's totally unstable when it's hooked up to machines. I mean, he powered his city for quite a long time, but he turned off all the other power stations…he powered the entire city with the Emerald alone! So what happens?_

_It broke._

_The Master Emerald **shattered.**_

_I remember that day very clearly, too. I saw green shards of light sprinkling over the night sky, as if it were just crying over this._

_Scratch that…Here is where everything goes wrong._

_You see, I learned something that day. Sally came up to me and started blabbing my ear off about chaos, and entropy, and speculations of what was in the Master Emerald, and how it wasn't meant to be released, and blah blah blah, we gotta stop it, blah blah blah…_

_Why didn't I listen?_

_After that day, Robotropolis has been a tornado of problems. Earthquakes, tornadoes, you name it, Robotropolis had it. And since Knothole was so close, we lost our home._

_I lost Sally._

_And it gets even worse. I went toward Robotropolis and looked for Manic and Sonia...well, I found Sonia. I found her body, anyways. I heard Manic got away, and I've gotten a couple messages from him so I know he's out there, somewhere. Two people. Two people I deeply cared about, snatched away in a single goddamn day._

_But I learned something that day. What was in the Master Emerald wasn't a colossal power, or an energy source, or something like that. I learned that what was in the Emerald was nothing more than Chaos. It really was a Chaos Emerald._

_But Chaos isn't a power, it isn't an energy form. It's an existent force, like gravity._

_The Chaos Emeralds were able to generate energy because of the actual Emeralds containing the Chaos. They had some kind of mystic power all their own, that was the power that Robotnik used._

_It explains why I went crazy that one time I went Super. I tried to kill everyone because I had pure Chaos inside me._

_Anyway, I keep missin' the point._

_See, when the Master Emerald broke, all hell broke loose. Weather patterns were so severe and unpredictable that millions died, maybe billions. Well, I'm sure that's how many died anyway. I have no idea how many of them were already roboticized…but that city was wiped clean off the map because it was Ground Zero._

_Our Great Forest burned completely down. I tried to save her, I really did…but Sally died from breathing in too much smoke. It was weird…the fires started from the edge of the forest and worked their way in. The chaos that ensued that day was just so great._

_To this day, I haven't seen any of my old buds running around._

_It's been five years._

_Tails, the one I worry about most, is perhaps the only one who had the best chance of makin' it out. He could just fly over everything. But he's gone…he'd be 16, 17 now I think. I would've given anything to be there to watch him grow up._

_Knuckles…has disappeared since that day. Nobody saw him on Angel Island, nobody saw him anywhere. However, I heard rumors about a guy walking around with a large green shard…maybe a piece of the Master Emerald. Guy says he's "broken, just like the Master Emerald…so he's gotta put it back together again…" or something. Guy wears a robe and hood from what I heard. Creepy…but it could be Knux._

_Robotnik? Oh, he's out there. I heard he already started another Robotropolis, but it's nowhere near as big…in fact it might be on an island somewhere._

_So what've I been doing for five years? Trying to fix the Emerald? Trying to save the world?_

_Yeah right. You think it's that easy? Just blow through a couple of levels, kill a boss, get a piece of something, or a magic item…beat the game? Get the high score, watch the ending scene, then sit back as the credits roll, hoping for some secret at the end?_

_Don't make me laugh._

_I'm just trying to survive, now._

_See, for three years the weather just tore Mobius a new one…and I did what I did best._

_I ran._

_I'm still running._

_I've been drifting in and out of survivor camps…resistance members who set up camps in safe places. Now the planet's somewhat stable again…maybe it couldn't handle all the chaos being released at once…so it just exploded. But the camps I visited varied. Some of them saw me as a savior…someone who could bring them out of the ashes and save this God-forsaken planet. Others thought I was a coward for running, leaving everyone behind._

_I tried to save her, I really did…but I was too late. I wasn't fast enough._

_So…ever since that day, I've been wearing a leather jacket with no sleeves, a red bandana, and my good ol' sneaks._

_And I've been running._

_I might never stop running._

------------  
**Eastern Cliffs Settlement,  
3:34 PM**  
------------

"...And that's about it," Sonic finished, sighing heavily.

The black bat leaned across the table at Sonic. "Man, you must've been for one hell of a ride."

The hedgehog nodded. "Yeah, and I'm still kinda wandering around. There isn't too much to do. What about you, Bane? Why'd you settle down here?"

Bane tilted his head in thought, then rubbed the back of his neck. "Cause, honestly these guys needed help. And now that this place has become a somewhat stable village, I've been keeping the peace."

"But...where's your sword?"

Bane pointed out the nearest window of his hut, which gazed over a rocky ledge. A katana was embedded in the earth.

"Why? You were a master with that thing."

The bat shook his head. "It...spilled too much blood. Far too much, so I put it down." He pounded a fist into his palm. "These are all I really need."

"The Chaos...it changed everything, didn't it?" Sonic shook his head.

"Yeah."

They sat in silence for a moment, then Bane cleared his throat.

"Now that we've gotten the 'hellos' out of the way, I have some news. I got a lead to where Manic is."

"Really?" Sonics ears perked up gleefully.

"Yeah. You know that settlement to the north of here? Call themselves the Silver Phoenix?"

"Yeah, they're trying to salvage as much technology as they can, right? Trying to actually bring back what we had?"

"That's them. Manic's...working for them now. Apparently, he's the only one who can bypass the security systems of Robotnik's old cities and stations. I haven't seen him myself, but a couple people on the caravan route told me about him."

"No joking? He's there?"

"I'm pretty sure," Bane nodded. "You gonna head there?"

"Yeah, but...you mind if I stay here a night? I'm a bit tired."

"Make yourself at home. It's a little cramped, but because of the cliffs, we won't be attacked." Bane said, rising.

"Where're you headed?"

"Out. Gonna go on patrol."

Sonic fell silent for a moment.

"Thanks, Bane. Thanks...for surviving."


End file.
